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Stephen (book chapter)
"Stephen" is the twenty-ninth chapter of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Synopsis Stephen is the only person to dress up for Mrs. Jewls's Halloween party. Plot This chapter starts by describing Stephen, who has green hair, a blue face, and purple ears. He was wearing his sister's pink dancing shoes and a green leotard, because he was dressed as a goblin for Halloween. However, it wasn't Halloween. Everyone laughs at Stephen, making fun of his costume, but he seems to refute them all. He explains that since Halloween is on a Sunday this year, they have to celebrate the Friday before. Unfortunately, he's the only one dressed up. Mrs. Jewls hands out Halloween cookies for the party, but forgets to give Stephen one because she laughs when she sees him. After everyone finishes the cookies in less than thirty seconds, she announces the Halloween party is over and they have lots of work to do. Stephen is embarassed, as the party lasted less than a minute, and he'll have to spend the rest of the day in his goblin suit. A couple other students laugh at him, before Mrs. Jewls proceeds to her arithmetic lesson. She writes "two plus two equals five" on the blackboard, but Joy notes that it's wrong. Mrs. Jewls tries again and gets three. She tries again and gets forty-three. Mrs. Jewls is confused, noting that they've always equalled four before. Suddenly, her chalk transforms into a worm, and the lights go out, with the blackboard flickering like a movie screen. Out of the blackboard steps the ghost of Mrs. Gorf, who threatens the students in Mrs. Jewls's class. Mrs. Jewls asks who Mrs. Gorf is, and the rest of the students explain. Mrs. Jewls is upset by Mrs. Gorf's presence, and asks that she gets out of the classroom. However, Mrs. Gorf explains that because she's a ghost, she can go anywhere she wants on Halloween. Mrs. Jewls points out that it's not Halloween, but Mrs. Gorf refutes it by saying that since Halloween lands on a Sunday this year, they have to celebrate it the Friday before. Suddenly Stephen jumps out of his seat excitedly, glad that Mrs. Gorf proved him right. He runs up to hug Mrs. Gorf, and causes her to disappear. The lights come back on, Mrs. Jewls picks up her chalk, and writes on the board that two plus two equals four. She notes that when two plus two isn't four, anything can happen. The students that laughed at Stephen now hail him as a hero, but still want him to change out of his costume, so later that day, he changes into blue jeans and a polo shirt. Of course, his hair is still green. It always was. Characters *Stephen *Mrs. Jewls *Jason *Jenny *Dana *Eric Bacon (as "Fatso") *Joy *Mrs. Gorf (as a ghost) *Todd (mentioned) *Dameon *Rondi *Louis (mentioned) Trivia *When Stephen tells Jenny she'd probably come to school on Sunday, it's likely a reference to "Jenny," where she comes to school on a Saturday. *Using this chapter, it can be confirmed that the earliest year the Wayside School books can take place in is 1993, since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (mentioned in "Voices") and the Nintendo Entertainment System (mentioned in "The New Flagpole") have been released by that point, and Halloween takes place on a Sunday that year. Gallery Stephen 1978.jpg|Dennis Hockerman illustration Stephen Chapter Illustration 1985.jpg|Julie Brinckloe illustration Stephen Chapter Illustration 2003.png|Adam McCauley illustration Foreign editions Stephen Chapter Illustration.jpeg|Peter Allen illustration (UK) Stephen Chapter Kitamura.png|Satoshi Kitamura illustration (Japan) Category:Sideways Stories from Wayside School chapters Category:Book chapters